If adopted by voters, does an amendment to a city charter empower the city to act consistent with the charter amendment if such action would be contrary to a term of a pre-existing collective bargaining agreement?
GROUND: In the aftermath of several days of rioting and protests based on alleged improper conduct by city police officers, the Cincinnati City Council placed on the November 2001 election ballot a proposed amendment to the city charter. The amendment, which was approved by voters, specified that all future openings for the position of assistant chief of police would be filled by appointment of the city manager, and that all assistant chiefs of police appointed after the effective date of the amendment “shall be in the unclassified civil service and exempt from all competitive examination requirements.” After the effective date of the charter amendment, an assistant chief of police position became vacant. Rather than filling that vacancy by following the past practice of automatically promoting the highest-rated employee on a current promotion-eligibility list, the city manager selected and appointed another person. The Queen City Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the union
